Bowling Green, Ohio – The people they've met along the way have made the first 3,140 miles of a cross-country bicycle trip memorable for an Ashwaubenon couple.

Tracy and Peter Flucke started the trek on a tandem bicycle in Washington last month and expect to end in Bar Harbor, Maine, in late August.

"We've had some great experiences and have met some really great people," Tracy Flucke said in a telephone interview. "Whether it's other cyclists along the route — talking to them and getting their stories — or people in the communities we've rolled into and how gracious people are and how engaged they are with us.

"They want to hear our story and they want to help us out," she said. "It continues to be that way, and it's just really fun."

That personal engagement with the community — and through social media with a broader base, including friends and family — has helped mitigate the feelings of loneliness that can accompany a long, cross-country trip, Tracy Flucke said.

"I think we've made no less than half a dozen, or maybe a dozen, lifelong friends in the last 50 days," said Peter Flucke. "Most of us don't do that in 50 years. It's an incredible experience."

Peter Flucke is president of We Bike, etc., a consulting company specializing in engineering, education and enforcement for biking, walking and healthy communities. Tracy Flucke is the former Allouez village administrator.

Both, as you may imagine, are avid cyclists.

The couple have been sharing the experience through a blog and Facebook.

Rain, snow, mountains, an endless series of rolling hills, and stiff crosswinds have challenged the riders thus far. They're confident they'll finish the 4,300 -ile journey in the coming weeks.

"We've had some challenging cross winds that were literally knocking us eight feet across the road in North Dakota," Peter Flucke said. "I'll write those things up and people will go 'I'm sorry you had a bad day,' but I haven't had a bad day yet.

"I'm so thankful for this incredible range of experiences I get to have," he said. "You don't get to have them sitting at home typing on your computer."